Sad twist as Bennett splits from girlfriend

IT was rugby league's most surprising true love story - and now it appears to be over.

For the moment, anyway.

The tempestuous relationship of Broncos coach Wayne Bennett and Dale Cage, the former Newcastle receptionist 16 years his junior, has taken a sad twist, with the pair telling friends they are no longer together.

Wayne Bennett and Dale Cage have told friends they are no longer together.

Bennett's colleagues and associates, however, say they would not be surprised to see the pair reunite after a stormy year in which they have repeatedly parted, only to get back together.

Bennett, a former Queensland Father of the Year, shocked the league community in 2016 when he left Trish, his wife of 42 years.

The Bennetts had previously shared their private life with the ABC's Australian Story, telling their inspiring story of raising two children who live with disability.

Trish Bennett was devastated by their split and remains single.

In 2016 Ms Cage, a mother of three, moved to Brisbane to be with Bennett, and the pair bought a home in the Brisbane riverside suburb of Yeronga.

Bennett, now 68, and Cage, 52, were reported recently to be engaged but it appears this might have been a fleeting moment of harmony.